The Global Politics of Maternality
This chapter emphasizes that motherhood matters in global politics. Beginning from the position that the institution of motherhood is complicated and constructed in diverse ways across diverse settings, the chapter traces the work and influence of feminist contributions to the theorizing of motherhood and maternity to explore the ways in which practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the institution of motherhood. Calling attention to the increasing and at times deadly infringements on women’s reproductive rights across the globe, the chapter explains the role of reproduction as central to the site of maternity and motherhood, negotiating the relationship between women, reproductive bodies, and the state, and how the gendered logics of war frequently rely on maternal imagery, discourse, and representation. The chapter concludes with a description of the volume’s three sections and individual chapter contributions.